Homecoming

Bast walked through the corridor slowly. He had just been released from Sickbay, with a final dose of painkillers, and instructions to stay off his feet for another day, and an assignment to light duty for the next two days. His left arm was wrapped in a shoulder brace, and a biokinetic field generator was attached to the articulation to help regenerate the tendons and cartilage around the shoulder. He would need physical therapy to help rebuild the muscles, but all in all, he was out of the woods.

The dim lighting on Deck Two cast long shadows in the corridor, somehow making the damage to the ship seem that much worse. Several quarters were open to space, with emergency forcefields holding the ship together.

He treaded carefully, avoiding some debris scattered on the deck, and approached the door to his quarters. He couldn't remember being in here since the Valdore exploded, and wasn't sure what to expect.

The doors parted, and he walked in the room, leaving the door open behind him. The place was a mess. The windows were gone. The room was open to space, and he could see the shimmer of the forcefield holding in the atmosphere. Right under the window had been a couch - now there was nothing, the furniture no doubt having been sucked out into space in the sudden decompression.

The coffee table was lying on its side, halfway between where it had once been, and the forcefield. If the field had taken a second longer to activate, the table would have been gone, as well. Everything else in the room was also similarly displaced. A picture frame he had placed on the wall, showing his family back on Trill, was on the floor, the glass broken.

He looked down on the floor next to the coffee table. He crouched, and picked up the object that had caught his attention. It was a game piece from his Tak board. The board that had been given to him by his grandfather, and that had been in his family for twelve generations.

He looked around, searching for the board, but it was nowhere to be seen. He did manage to find three other pieces, but they were all that was left.

Camila rose from her bed when the alarm went off, feeling as if she had gotten next to no sleep. Ever since the ship had been cast into the universe they now found themselves trying to get out of, she had been working double and triple shifts. Now with Temerant back, she had spent every moment not on duty with him in Medical and she still hadn't been sleeping well.

With a sigh, she got out of bed and headed to the replicator for a cup of Raktajino and then trudged for the sonic shower. It wasn't until she was in the bathroom that she realized she hadn't taken the coffee with her, but shrugged and proceeded to shower. It would be there when she got out, just like Temerant would still be in Sickbay and the Black Hawk would still be wherever they were.

Once she was dressed, Camila went back to the replicator and disposed of the now cold Klingon coffee and replicated a fresh mug and some toast with strawberry jam. The flavor seemed especially lackluster to her as she ate it, but went through the process simply because it would give her some energy. When she finished, she recycled the mug and saucer, then got ready to head out for another day of duty.

She headed into the corridor and stepped over some debris that had yet to be removed and made a note to have Operations clean up the mess before she took a phaser to it. She started to walk past Temerant's door when she noticed it was open and immediately stopped; if someone were trying to rob him of the few items he had left after the partial destruction on the deck, she would personally lower the forcefield and let them get sucked into space.

Camila stepped into the room quickly, then stopped when she saw the familiar form of Temerant searching through the rubble and forgot her plan of attack. "Temerant?" she asked quietly as she approached, her heart breaking when she saw all the destruction in his quarters and the game piece in his hands that he didn't have time to teach her how to play.

The sound of her voice should have startled him. But truth be told, after recent days, nothing could really surprise him anymore. He half-turned to look at her, still clutching the Tak pieces in his hand. The Consortium had taken everything from him. His self-control, his free will, his identity, the respect of his colleagues, and in many ways, his own self-respect. He had managed to regain some of it, and had gained the love of Camila, but now this. His last tangible memory of a man he had loved.

"How did things get this bad?" he asked, his voice muted.

She moved over to him and put am arm around his waist. "I wish I knew, Temerant," she asked softly. She knew that he had lost more than physical items in the partial destruction of the ship. He had lose things that she could never replace no matter how hard she tried. She looked up at him. "What I do know is that for every ending, there is a new beginning. No matter how hard you think it may be, I'm here for you every step of the way."

He wrapped his good arm around her waist, and pulled her close. "I know," he said, gratitude in his voice. He leaned in, and kissed her.

"I want to kill Terlexa for what she did to me. And that Selamat ambassador," he declared.

Camila returned the kiss and locked her eyes on his. "We will, too," she vowed. "Not just them, but everyone who is involved in this. No one tears Starfleet apart and gets away with it. Too many people have died needlessly and we're going to find the ones responsible and make them pay."

Temerant released his hold on her, and looked at the ground, ashamed of himself for his thoughts. He knew it was wrong to wish for the death of another, and that the Federation penal system was based on the possibility of rehabilitation, and the value of justice - that people should be held accountable for their actions, and brought to trial, not hunted down and killed in some sort of Wild West parody. But the desire for vengeance was still there.

"I need to find new quarters," he said simply, waving his good arm at the mess that surrounded them.

"I happen to have quarters which may have room for a handsome man like yourself," Camila said. "It isn't open to space, either....and I would love to have you there with me. I've really missed you, Temerant and I don't want you to have to do more than you already have to do. Let's just get a few things and get set up in my place."

Temerant walked over to a closet and pulled out a duffel bag, which he started filing with the few personal belongings he could find - mostly clothes which were still in their drawers, since most of the decorative items were either in pieces on the floor, or had been sucked out into space during the decompression.

"You just want me there for my body then," he said, with a lopsided smile.

"You know it, sexy," she said as she went over to help him. She paused and looked at him. "You know that I love your mind as well as your body, Temerant. We'll get through this together and we'll be better for it. I didn't leave you before and I'm not going to leave you now."

Temerant smiled, and resisted the urge to pull her close to him again. He had to finish collecting his things and get out of these quarters. Having nothing but a shimmering forcefield between him and open space was none too reassuring.

"Let's get out of here," he said, after having put the last of his clothes in the bag.

"is there anything else you want?" Camila asked as she looked around the wrecked room. Her heart went out to him with all that he had lost and didn't know what he would want and what he wouldn't other than his clothes. "Pictures? Anything?"

"Pictures can be replaced," he said. "They're all stored in the computer anyway, I'll replicate them later. There's really nothing else that can't be replicated."

"Then let's get you set up in my quarters," she said as she took his free hand and headed for the door. "You're in luck, too. I actually have my clothes organized instead of being flung everywhere, but if we had more time," she gave him a wink. "They would be again."

"Just wait until you get off duty," he teased. "Though I have to warn you, there are limits to what I can do because of this shoulder."

"I'm only going to take your clothes off and put you in bed," Camila said as she headed out of the quarters with him. "Then I'm going to take care of you until you're better."

Temerant nodded as they approached the door to Camila's quarters, just three doors away from his own. "I have no problem with that plan," he said.

Camila entered her access code and stepped aside as the door swished open. "Make yourself at home," she told him before leaning in for a kiss. "I'll see you tonight, babe. I love you."